Using drones for various missions at sea is 1 of the key assumptions of this year's script "Baltops". The exercises include CTF 66, a peculiar U.S. Navy unit that tests fresh types of unmanned aircraft. any of them have been presented close Ustka – on the platform and on the Baltic.
HMS "Biter" is 1 of respective patrol boats of the British Royal Navy. At first glance it looks inconspicuous – 20 metres long, little than six metres wide, a tiny bridge, and above it an open deck with navigational instruments and another steering wheel. That's it.
When I board a ship, I think that the next fewer hours may be truly difficult. No sign of last summer. Sometimes rain clouds fall over Ustka, but it's a tiny problem. It's worse that the Baltic has swinged for good. A 4th later, I know that fears were not unreasonable. Just behind the “heads” of the port “Biter” gets a solid shot. The beak rises on a wave a fewer meters up and then drops rapidly. The water flows through the advanced deck and wets us almost from head to toe. I'm looking at an unmanned man on our side. The vehicle virtually rises into the air erstwhile and for all, but its operator remains quiet. GARC can execute tasks effectively, even erstwhile the state of the sea reaches 4 degrees on the ten-degree Douglas scale. Moreover, it will last in the state of the sea eight. present we go to the Baltic just to look at its actions.
GARC is simply a submarine drone belonging to the American Navy, or more specifically to a peculiar unit called CTF 66. It deals with the improvement and introduction of various types of unmanned vehicles. It cooperates with NATO countries, but besides Ukraine. – We are watching closely The fight that is presently taking place in the Black Sea. It is an chance to gather cognition about the nature of contemporary conflicts at sea and adapt it to our needs – emphasizes cadmium. Michael Mattis, CTF Commander 66. Ukrainians, though almost completely deprived of conventional naval forces, were able to push Russian distant Black Sea Fleet far from their coasts. The key were just produced at the expense of impact drones. Of course, drones will never replace ships, but they should be an crucial complement to them. Due to method constraints, it is most likely hard to think of utilizing them on a larger scale in the open space of the Atlantic and Pacific. However, already in smaller waters, specified as the Baltic, can play a truly crucial function – noted cadmium. Mattis.
Missions involving unmanned Americans have been carried out, among others, during the "Baltops '25" exercise, which has been taking place since the beginning of June. The already mentioned GARC drones were utilized to simulate an attack on USS Mount Whitney command vessel and Arleigh Burke USS class destroyer "Paul Ignatius". We can besides admire a example of their capabilities from the HMS "Biter" deck. A full of 4 drones left the port of Usta with us. 2 of them operate from our deck, the another 2 are assigned to operators who are on the duplicate patrol of HMS "Pursuer". For more than 2 hours, vehicles sail around boats – it is behind their sterns, it is on both sides. They maneuver, line up in formation, occasionally turn around and rush towards “Biter” and “Pursuer”. erstwhile we yet return to the port, they give emergence to a lively interest of walkers walking on the pisa. any of them stop, catch cell phones, take pictures.
– GARC was designed as a combat drone, but can besides be utilized for medical evacuation or transport. Its capacity reaches tons – explains Aleksander Laskowski from CTF 66, who has served in the US Navy for years. It is fast – it develops up to 43 knots, and its scope is over 500 miles. Meanwhile, the Americans besides brought 2 another drones to Ustka. Rampage, like GARC, moves on the surface of the sea. It is powered by solar energy and can be utilized to conduct exploratory missions, but besides to transport supplies. Lightfish – another water-powered vehicle powered by the sun – allows, among others, to monitor underwater critical infrastructure. The advantage of this kind of construction, as Lt. Jesse Faylo of CTF 66 emphasizes, is low production costs. The drone can besides replace a man on a mission peculiarly dangerous. – Although 1 must remember that unmanned people without people cannot handle it. In order for the systems to function decently and to carry out their individual tasks, a multitude of specialists are needed, as Lieutenant Faylo reminds us.
St. Chor. Laskowski admits that CTF 66 tests many unmanned workers. “The main thing is that programmers should be able to test whether the systems work correctly, but besides to test different sensor solutions,” he stresses.
"Baltops" is the largest NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea. This year's edition is attended by almost 50 ships, respective twelve aircraft and nearly 9,000 soldiers and sailors. Poland at sea is represented by the frigate of the ORP "Gen. T. Kościuszko", the corvette of the ORP "Kashub", 2 trawlers of the ORP "Nakło" and the ORP "Mami" in the air by the SH-2G on-board helicopter. The Marine Rocket Unit and the 6th Airborne Brigade exercise on land. In the practice scenario, utilizing and combating drones is peculiarly important.
